Apparatus for dyeing or washing textiles



May 28, 1929. c. F. HAMMOND EI'AL APPARATUS F'OR DYEING OR WASHING TEXTILES Filed July 28, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet May 28, 1929. c. F. HAMMOND ET AL 1,714,777

APPARATUS FOR DYEING OR WASHING TEXTILES Filed July 2a, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet May 28, 1929. c, HAMMOND ET AL 1,714,777

APPARATUS FOR DYEING OR WASHING TEXTILES I Patented May 2a, was

1 o IcE.

CECIL rna'rnnnsroun HAMMOND AND mum salicmjurou; or LONDON,

ENGLAND.

germane FOR DYEING- on WASHING! 'rsxrrnus.

Application flled July 28,1928, Serial No. 295,988, and in Great Britain'April 13, 1927.

This invention relates to' apparatus for V effecting liquid treatments of textile materials, such as articles of clothing, pieces of fabric and so on. The said liquid treatments include dyein washing and like operations. In apparatus for these purposes as heretofore employed, the dye or wash liquor was heated by passing steam into it, and agitation of the liquor was'obtained by the introduction of Jets of air directed so as to produce a circulation of the liquor. A disadvantage incidental to the introduction of steam in the manner aforesaid is that condensation of such steam brings about a gradual dilution of the treatment liquor which is very troublesome particularly in the case of dye baths.

The principal object of this invention is to provide what may be called a self-contained apparatus adapted for performing treatments with liquids unaccompanied by the drawbacks heretofore experienced. The term self-contained is used in the sense that the processes can be performed without the necessity for providing outside sources of steam and com ressed air supplies. In the spe'cification o our application Ser. No. 133,683, the employment of submerged combustion is described and claimed for the heating, elevating and circulating of liquids, the performance being distinguished'by the intro- ]duction of the products of combustion from the submerged flame into a column of the liquid in an enclosure having an inlet and outlet, which column became heated and aerated, thereby, the result being a heating and simultaneous raising of the liquid according to the air-lift principle. The principal object of .the present invention is capable of realization by an adaptation of the method of simultaneous heating and air-lifting of the treatment liquid.

According to this invention, a submerged burner is employed for simultaneously heating and aerating a localized portion of the liquid of the treatment bath, such heated and aerated liquid being then elevated according to the air-lift principle and subsequently utilized in such a manner as to promote a circulation of the body of liquid in the treatment bath.

A desirably compact and self-contained arrangement is one in. which a submersible burner operates in a relatively isolated part of the bath, the liquid in such isolated part becoming heated and aerated and thereupon" forcibly delivered directly into the body of the bath with such guidance as to promote a vlgorous circulation within the bath. It is advantageous to displace the heated and aerated liquid by means of liquid admitted from the body of bath liquid to a secondary clrculation duct, the admission to such duct being at a distancefrom the nozzle of the duct filled without setting up such suction effect ,on materials in the bath as would tend to hold the latter or retard their free move ment. In order to enable the invention to be read ily understood, reference is made to the no companying drawings illustrating suitable constructions of apparatus for the carrying out of the processes, in which drawings Figure 1 is a central vertical section of anapparatus for the performance of the process by the direct application of the gases of submerged combustion to theliquor of the bath.

, burner and of such a nature as to keep the Figure Qis a section-of the top part of the apparatus, the section beingtaken at right angles to the section in Figure 1.

igure 3 in its lower art is a section taken about on the line 111- II of Figure 1, and in its upper part is a section taken about on thline III--III of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is ancelevation to a greatly reduced scale of the complete apparatus as viewed from the same position as that from which Figure l is viewed.

Figure 5 is an elevation viewing the apparatus from the right hand side of Figure 4 but with the lid of the bath in its raised position.

Figure 6 is a plan of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a central vertical section of a modified construction of apparatus.

Figure 8 is an irregular section of a modified construction, and Figures 9 to 11 are sectional plan views of a detail shown in- Figure 8.

Referring to Figures 1 to 6, a is the vat or treatment chamber which, as seen from Figure 3, is more or less rectangular in horifoot of a flat rear wall of the vat and may have the cylindrical formation shown by Figures land 8. The lower portion of the rear wall may be thickened as illustrated to permit of forming the sump within its thickness and to permit also of the formation of a flat chamber e at each side of the sump and communicating therewith, as is-clear from the upper half of Figure 3.' The duct 0 may open into the flat chambers e as well as into the sump (Z. The top of the sump is perforated to permit of the passage of the nozzle of a depending burner f which is of the submersible type capable of maintaining combustion although its nozzle is submerged in the liquid contained in the sump (Z. The top part of the thickened wall covering the chambers e is provided with perforations or with elongated ports 9 Figure 3 of slot formation, for a purpose to be described. The vat a is advantageously moulded from suitable clay or plastic material so as to be acid-resisting or non-corrodible, and the hole d beneath the sump d is plugged as it is slmply intended for facilitating thecoring out of the sump and the perforation in the top of The upper .portion of the rear fiat wall is formed with an inwardly projecting deflector h and the top edge of the wall 6 has a formation it, these parts it h producing a throat at y and a flared mouth at is. The deflector h projecting from the flat wall is wider than the. part h and is i perforated'for the passage of the cylindrical body of the burner f. The vat a is closed by a main cover or cover frame Z havin an opening in the middle which is closed y a lid m. The cover Z is formed with a depending flange Z which takes over the top of the vat, and is channeled to receive a rubber or other packing strip n whichseats upon the top edge of the vat. The underside of the cover Z is, moreover, channeled or hollowed out at 0 for a purpose to be described, and is formed with a perforation for the passage of'the burner f. The burner f is supported by a perforated triangular foot piece 72 which engages beneath a shoulder on the burner as seen in the top left hand portion of Figure 1 and is disposed a short distance from the rear wall of the vat so that the burner is cooled by the bath liquor surrounding'it.

The foot piece p rests upon and is bolted 'By comparing Figures 5 and Bit will parent that when the weight 3 is'm'oved to. the end of the arm 2, the weight 3 will overbalance the weight of the lid m and will down on to the cover Z, as -shown, the depending burner passing through the appropriate holes in the cover Z, rim IL, and top of the cover Z down on the vat a but they are omitted from the drawing for sakeof clearness. It is only necessary to observe that when the vat and cover are made of brittle material, the tightening means must include some resilient or. limiting means for preventing over-tightening of the cover Z which might cause breakage. The lid m is thickened around its rim and is fitted therein with a packing strip 8 for seating upon the cover Z. In the middle of its upper surface the lid'm is formed with an upstanding lug t in which are two perforations one above the other.

The lower one is for the reception of a pin 4) carried in the free end or-fork of a lever arm u pivotally mounted at one side of the vat, and the upper one is for the reception of a pin w which engages between pairs of upwardly directed lugs 00 on such forked free end of the lever arm a. The pivot spindle g of the lever arm u is supported I in suitable bearings 3 Figure 6 and is extended beyond the hearing at the right hand side of Figures 1 and 6 so as to be available for the mouthing of a hub or sleeve 2 formed with arms 1 at diametrically opposite points. For sake 'of clearness these two arms are shown in Figure 1 as being in the plane of the paper although the lid m is shown closed but they should be in a position perpcndicular to the paper when the lid is closed, as will be clear after a description of Figures 4'to 6. The arms 1 serve for the attachment of a long arm 2, the rivets for such attachment bein seen in Figure 6 and the rivet holes only eing seen in the arms in Figure 1.

The arm 2 carries a weight .3 which is mounted with guidance on the arm 2 so'that it can slide to. and fro along the length of such arm2. It will be seen from'Figures 5 and 6 that the arm 2 isextended beyond the pivot spindle y and it is of greater depth than the i 1 arms 1 so that the weight 3 can be moved the pivot without being fouled by the arms 1 be ap hold the latter in its closed condition down on the cover Z. If the weight be caused to slide to the opposite or extended end of the arm 2 so that it arrives in the position seen in Figure 5, it will operate to .open, or assist by its handle 4 right along the arm 2 beyond v the duct will thereupon cause displacement between the lugs 22 on the arm u. The cover 1- v is fitted with an outlet connection 5 for gases of combustion and vapours, such outlet connection being in communication with the channel or hollow part 0 of the cover Z. Also, I

there may be an aperture 6 in the cover for the insertion into the bath of a thermostat 'device adapted for controlling the burner supply of fuel, or air, or both, in accordance with the temperature developed in the bath. Or means controlled by the pressure existing in the bath may be substituted for the thermostat.

The curved wall part b is provided with perforations 7 for giving communication between the interior of the vat and the duct or ducts c. In the example illustrated in Figure 1 these perforations 7 are formed in the upper portion of the wall 6 and have'a somewhat tangential direction, but it will be understood that such perforations may be 1 formed in other portions of the wall and may joint on the cover e the construction shown in United'states Pat-' be given any suitable direction. A drainage hole 8 with plug or valve is formed in the bottom of the vat and communicates with the duct 0 and there may be perforations 9 communicating between the lowest point in the vat and such duct so that all liquor may be drawn off from the vat when required.

In operation, the vat a is charged with a suitable treatment liquor up to say, the throat level at y and the lid m is opened by lifting the arm 2 and shifting the weight 3 to the position seen in Figure 5. The articles or material to be treated are then introduced into the vat through the opening in the cover Zthe flared mouth I: facilitating this introduction. The arm 2 and weight 8 are now operated to close down the lidm the weight 3 operating to apply sufficient pressure to the lid for causing its packing s' to make a tight Z. The burner f may be of cut No. 1,689,551, dated October 30,1928, wherein means are disclosed for lighting the flame. The gases of combustion from the burner are delivered from the nozzle into the liquor contained in the cylindrical sump d andbecome highly difiused therein, with the I result that such liquor is efficiently heated and is also aerated by the gases so that the column of liquid in the sump is lightened The of the aerated liquid in the sump (1 so that such aerated liquid will pass laterally into the fiat chambers e and will be delivered upwardly through the slots g in the form of jets.

The upward currents thus initiated meet the curved lower surface of the deflector part b and are deflected across the vat where they meet the curved or cylindrical surface of the wall 7) and thus acquire a circular motion as indicated by the arrow heads on the diagram lines of flow and circulation in Figure 1. The circular motion of the currents produces a revolving motion of the body of liquid and causes the liquid to be positive ly and uniformly active upon the material contained in the vat so that, ifdyeing is being performed, the fabrics contained in the vat are uniformly treated. Some of the liquid in its revolution or circulation will pass through the perforations 7 to keep the duct 0 full as will be apparent from Figure 1. The gases of combustion and any vepours produced by the heat will separate from the liquid in the upper part of the vat and collect beneath the cover Z and. lid m, Such gas and vapours are conducted by the inverted channel 0 to the outlet 5 through which they escape or are led to a suitable place of exhaust. When the treatment is finished, it isa very simple. matter to open the lid m, remove the treated goods and intro-- duce a fresh batch for treatment. The nun ber of perforations 7, or the perforated arclt" is made sufficiently large to render the velocity of the inflow at the individual perforations as lowas possible so that the materials undergoing treatment shall not be held against such perforations by the suction which would It will be apparent that the construction described eliminates as far as possible anyzones or pockets in-which circulation cannot take place. The slightly increased concentration of the bath liquor which may be due to evaporation may be advantageousin many processes in which a slightly increasing concentration during the progress of the process is desirable, whereas a diminished concentration such as is produced by condensed steam ma be very disadvantageous.

Natura ly, the apparatus is capable of modification in various ways, withoutdeparting from the invention. For example, it will be seen that the uprising aerated currentsof liquid release their gases. of aeration upon arriving at the to of the vat or vessel as hereinbefore descri ed. Now if desired and as shown'in Figure 7 the sump or enclosure 10 in which the nozzle of the burner 11 is disposed might be connected with a rising pipe 12 which would be arranged to deliver the heated and aerated liquor into a tank orcontainer 13 situated above the level of the top of the vat or vessel 14. In this case, the ele ter would return such liquor through a suit- I through perforations 17 in the vat into a passage 18 communicating with a connection 19, leading to the sump 10. Also, the sump d may be differently disposed and may have a central situation instead of the side wall situation illustrated.

According to the modification shown in Figures 8 to 11 the liquid which is heated and aerated by the products of combustion from the burner 20 is delivered through a rising pipe 21 to an elevated tank or container 22. The vat 23 communicates with the tank 22 through a downtake pipe 24 and a passage 25 or 26, one of these passages being used for the delivery and the other for the return of liquid from the vat to the sump or enclosure 27, as determined by the position of a ported valve 28 which is mounted on a spindle 29 and is rotatable to any one of three different positions by means of a lever arm 30. The three different positions are illustrated in Figures 9, 10 and 11.

In Figure 9 the valve permits flow of liquid from the tank 22, through pipe 24:, valve port 28 and passage 25 to a central perforated pipe 31 from which the liquid is directed into the body of the bath contained in the vat 23. Liquid returns from the vat 23 through the passage 26, valve port 28 to the sump 27. Thus the flow of liquid in the vat is in the direction shown by the How lines of Figure 8.

In order to obtain a reversal of the direction of flow in the vat, the valve 26 is rotated to the position shown in Figure 10, in which case liquid flows from the downtake pipe 24, through valve port 28 and passage 26, into the vat, whilst the liquid is returned to the sump through the perforated pipe 31, passage 25 and valve port 28". v In Figure 1.1 the valve is in such position that the vat 23 is by-passed and the liquid now passes down the pipe 24 through the valve port 28 directly to the sump or enclosure 27.

In the event of the thermostat above referred to being operative forcontrolling the admission of additional air to the burner, it is possible to vary the rate of heating of the liquor whilst maintaining constant the vigour of the agitation or circulation of the bath, and this is of practical importance in some treatments of which dyeing is a favourable example. Thus, the invention not only avoids the dilution and other drawbacks attendant on the use of steam but it also avoids the necessity for supplying air under pressure to produce agitation. If pressure air is employed, such air is wholly or partly used first of all for supporting combustion in the burner, so that in this respect an economy is effected.

In treatment processes in which it may be I 1. Liquid treatment apparatus comprising a vat adapted for the circulation therein of a body of treatment liquid, a chamber adapted for isolating a portion of such body of liquid, down-take and up-take communications between said vat and said chamber, burner supporting means, a, submersible burner adapted for being supported by said means with its nozzle submerged in the liquid in said chamber, and directive means adapted for circulating within the vat the liquid air-lifted by said burner. v

2. Liquid treatment apparatus, comprising a vessel and ducts constituting a circulatory system, a burner supported with its nozzle submerged in one of said ducts and adapted for air-lifting liquid in said duct, and directive delivery means on said duct adapted for directing delivery of such liquid into said vessel for the circulation of the body of liquid therein.

3. Liquid treatment apparatus comprising a vessel, downtakc and uptake ducts communicatingvwith said vessel and with one another, a burner chamber in connection with said uptake duct, a submersible burner supported in said chamber with its nozzle submerged in liquid normally contained in said uptake duct, and delivery nozzle means in association with the upper end of said uptake duct, said nozzle means being directive for circulating within said vessel the liquid airlifted by said burner in the uptake duct.

4. Liquid treatment apparatus comprising a vessel adapted for contaning a body of liquid and forming part of a circulatory system, an enclosure formed in said circulatory system and having cation with said vessel, a submersible burner supported in said enclosure and adapted to heat and aerate the liquid column within said enclosure, and a duct formed with inclined perforations adapted to establish downtake communication between said vessel and said enclosure. 5. Liquid treatment apparatus comprising a vessel having a curved interior and forming part of a circulatory system, an enclosure formed in said circulatory system, a submersible burner supported in said enclosure and adapted to heat and aerate the liquid column contained within said column, and a duct embodied within the thickness of the wall of said vessel and forming part of said circulatory system, said duct being adapted to deliver heated liquid from said enclosure into "said and ducts connected between the sums) and vessel with circumferential guidance. the vessel and adapted vfor carrying the iquid 6. Liquid treatment apparatus comprising put into circulation by the air-lift effect due 10 a vessel adapted for containing abody of liqto said burner when in operation.

5 uid, a sump formed in the lower part of said vessel, a burner supported with its nozzle sub- CECIL 'FEATHERSTONE HAMMOND.- merged in the liquid contained in said sump v W LLIAM' 

